


Crimson Apple

by Kahnah



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Blood, Gen, OFC - Freeform, Some angst, Vampires, all the vampire stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-05-10 07:54:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5577382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kahnah/pseuds/Kahnah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short story about how Ryan ended up with three vampire charges, without really meaning to.</p><p> </p><p>“You turned me into a monster.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ray

**Author's Note:**

  * For [catboysam](https://archiveofourown.org/users/catboysam/gifts).



> A short story that I will be working on from time to time. Updates will be irregular because Novocaine is still my main focus.  
> This is dedicated to the amazing Rachel, who came up with the idea because she had like ten thousand floating around and I usually want to write them all.

Chapter 1

Ray

 

The craving had started after reaching adulthood and it had been… surprisingly easy to control in all honesty. No lashing out, no sudden aggression or urges to hunt, to bite and kill. Also no glittery skin that made every human stare at him and made him appear desirable, which was probably for the best because not only would he be too awkward to ever step out of his apartment again, but it would also be incredibly hard to hide that he was a fucking vampire.

Now, okay, even after all these years this sounded fake as fuck but there were three facts he couldn’t really deny.

  * He needed blood to survive. Thankfully not necessarily human blood and not in excessive amounts. Stealing a blood conserve every few weeks was enough and shit, sometimes he had to hunt a small animal down and feel bad for a few days. Still manageable.


  * He could see quite well but most of all he could smell everything. Humans, animals, insects - if there was fresh blood inside, he knew where it was and if the body was healthy and good to eat. That was also still okay, sometimes even beneficial when he searched for someone specific. He rarely got the problem that there were too many smells everywhere but that was usually when he already had a headache to behind with. Absolutely doable.
  * The real bummer was the thing that he couldn’t enter a building without being invited. It sucked and all in all was the worst thing about this whole vampire thing.



Bothersome in the best of cases but he learned to work around it. A simple knock and a smiling “Hey, can I come inside?” usually worked wonders and any shop that said  _ Welcome! _ somewhere was allowed.

It still sucked but yeah, he could deal with it.

 

So okay, after researching this stuff, Ryan settled on vampire. Or strigoi or all those other fancy names for it, but vampires was the most common one to use, so there you go.

Why it happened to him? Who knew. Some genetic stuff probably; his parents surely weren’t vampires themselves but maybe some ancestors were? No way to find out, he had tried.

All he had was the fact that he was a vampire. That was that.

Now, he could fight against it and for a while he had, but where was the point, really? Besides decapitating himself it was kinda hard to get rid of it. So he had just embraced it.

After all there were some nice side effects to this whole shit.

Slower aging, no sickness, he could heal wounds and broken bones, he was stronger and faster than normal humans - all in all being a vampire wasn’t as bad as movies and books made you think it would be.

A little discipline and he was dealing with that shit quite well, thank you.

That was until right now.

He wasn’t even sure how it had happened. After all he had walked his normal route from the shop after getting his groceries like nearly every damn day and not even once had the people around him force any reaction out of him besides maybe annoyance.

It had to be the scent. New and strong and somehow exotic yet familiar. It must have shortcutted his brain somehow and he was only now resurfacing slowly.

The first thing he noticed was that he was purring like a satisfied and well-fed cat. It was a warm feeling, exciting in the best way possible. His heart was working on overdrive, his eyes closed at the simple happiness in his mind.

It was ripped away from him because the second thing he realized was that he was drinking. His fangs that he normally kept retracted in his gums were sunken into something soft and warm, letting blood splash inside his mouth that he greedily gulped down. It wasn’t an animal, too tall and too heavy for that. His own body pressed the other against a wall to keep them up, one of his arms laced around a slim waist and his other hand was buried into dark hair, forcing the stranger to bare their throat.

It was a human and they tasted… enticing. Full of life and healthy, the blood thick and red in his mouth, filling his stomach. There wasn’t even any resistance, no fight from the stranger, and that was probably what made Ryan stop.

Had he killed someone?

Forcing his fangs to let go, forcing his body to take a step back was hard but he managed it with a gasp. There was still a purr at the back of his throat as his eyes fluttered open and he couldn’t help but lick his lips, moaning quietly at the taste. And there was still blood, welling up by his bite mark before running down smooth skin to disappear beneath a collar.

What a waste!

What a terrible waste, and he couldn’t help but lean ahead again and lick that pale skin clean. He was back to the wound, sucking and bringing fresh red forth when he remembered the limpness of the body.

Again he forced himself to stop, and this time he actually managed to take the stranger in.

It was a young man, barely over twenty if at all, and he was short. Somehow, that was Ryan’s first thought. Maybe because he was actually holding the body up, the checkerboard shoes not even reaching the ground and slowly, oh so slowly he let the guy down.

The boy instantly began to collapse and that was to be expected, considering how pale he was. He didn’t appear to be conscious anymore and maybe… maybe he wasn’t even alive.

The purring sound finally stopped as he held the boy up, watching as his head rolled listlessly from side to side.

Oh god, oh god,  _ oh go- _

Brown eyes fluttered open, barely more than a sliver, and the boy let out a breath. His pale lips forming the word _‘_ _stop’_ and his hand twitched as if he either wanted to push him back or stop the blood escaping his body.

At first Ryan was relieved. The guy wasn’t dead! He was weak and on the brink of passing out, but not dead!

The hand pawed at him, barely anything more than a brush of cold and sweaty skin before falling back down. The stranger groaned barely audible before his eyes fell shut again.

Then silence.

The little weight the other possessed resting against Ryan’s body and the wall as he stopped breathing.

Licking his teeth, Ryan shuttered at the taste but it still didn’t… didn’t register in his mind. Where had this kid even come from? But that didn’t matter right now because he gently helped him to slump to the floor as if that would help him start breathing again but all it did was let the blood flow into the dark hair.

Right, right people needed that.

Hesitating, he reached out and pressed his palm against the bite mark, trying to keep what was left inside. It was a rather dumb idea, not only because blood didn’t help a lot if you weren’t breathing but also because it was warm and sticky against his skin, calling to him oh so sweetly.

“Come on, kid,” he whispered, and his voice sounded hoarse from the purring he had done before. “Don’t you die on me.”

The boy didn’t listen and the blood was pooling beneath his touch and he couldn’t help himself but to lift his hand and lick it clean. That taste… God, he had blood before but never had it tasted like this. Never had it smelled like this and the scent was clogging his head, not letting him think straight.

The guy was dead, nothing he could do against it. Why let his body get to waste?

He had read a lot about vampires, that came with figuring out your identity as one, and there were a lot of tribes and families that consumed not only blood but organs of their prey. By now this thought had always been repulsive, a form of cannibalism and dehumanization he would never do, but now that the thought was in his head it seemed almost… logical.

He had to hide this body, right? What was easier than to simply devour him?

And most of all… most of all he wondered if the scent would stay the same on the inside as well as on the outside. Or if it would even turn out to be stronger.

That finally snapped him out of this state, finally let him see clearly what was happening and he backed away from the body, disgusted by himself.

This kid was dying! Was dying because of him and he was not a murderer!  _ He was not a murderer! _

Pushing against the wound again, he noticed that the blood was flowing slower, was barely dripping anymore and here at the neck he couldn’t even make out a pulse anymore.

Was he already too late?

No breathing, no pulse…

But he refused that! He refused the thought that he had done this! That was impossible!

But as much as he wanted to deny it… he still had to deal with this now. He should call an ambulance, call for help at least.

In the end he didn’t. Mostly because he was a coward, because he couldn't be sure what the reaction to that was and what people would do to him. It was simple self-preservation.

And so he did the only other thing he could think of.

If his blood could heal himself, it surely could help this guy here, right?

Biting into his own hand, he barely felt any pain. He simply let the darker red drip into the other mouth and then pressed his bleeding palm against the still fresh wound, hoping to get it into his circulation.

After that… he simply stood up. He stood up, cleaned himself up as much as possible and went home, walking through the crowd of people like he was in a dream, and maybe he was because the moment he got home, he crashed hard.

Comfortable and well fed he slept until the late afternoon of the next day and when he woke up he could easily pretend that it really had been a dream.

After all there was no bite mark on his hand and there were no groceries anywhere. Most of all though, he didn’t react to people, he didn’t feel this hunger like he had in this dream.

That wasn’t evidence enough, he knew that. He wasn’t so delusional yet, so he spent the day inside, browsing the web for any news about the incident.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing, even three days later and after a week Ryan was sure that it had been a messed up dream. A nightmare even. Maybe a warning but there was still no pull, no desire to hunt someone done.

He kept living his life like before.

That was until there was a knock on his door.

So, maybe he wasn’t as good with pretending this was all a dream as he hoped he would be because his first thought was that it had to be cops. Cops or a fucking guy with a stake to drive it straight through his heart. He surely didn’t expect that it was the kid from a week ago.

Opening the door, he found the same brown eyes staring at him as before, just more alive and awake.

Falling silent, Ryan stared at the young man who stared right back before starting to laugh. It wasn’t a happy sound, it had a hysterical pitch to it as he collapsed against the doorframe, holding his belly.

“Oh, brilliant!” The stranger giggled as he slid down to the ground. “Oh, that’s just great! I really hoped someone else would open this fucking door, you know? Than I could pretend I’m not losing my mind but hey! Here we are, dude! Again, I might add!”

“You’re alive,” Ryan muttered slowly. The relief he expected wasn’t coming. Instead he was hit with a terrifying fear because if that guy was here, that meant it wasn’t a dream. This shit had really happened.

“Damn right, I am alive! No thanks to you!” The boy frowned. “Or maybe especially thanks to you. Who knows? I certainly don’t know shit about what’s happening anymore.” The last sentence dug deeper, sobered him up, and when he looked up to Ryan, he seemed lost and scared. “Seriously dude, what the fuck is going on?”

“Fuck…” Ryan muttered but took a step to the side. This was certainly something he did want to discuss on the street and it probably looked weird enough to have this stranger sit in front of his door. But the boy simply shook his head.

“I can’t. I can’t walk into a house without feeling sick and feeling like I’m burning up. But you know what’s strange? Not even every house. I don’t know why and I am really tired of trial and error at this point.”

“Oh.” Well, if that didn’t sound familiar. “You need to be invited to enter someone’s home.”   
“Sure, let’s just pretend that’s true.”   
“Why don’t you come inside?” Ryan offered and with a sigh the stranger stood up and carefully stepped inside. Hesitating for a long moment, he began to laugh, the same hysterical sound as before. “Fuck me, it’s actually working.”

They were standing closer now and Ryan could smell him. Roses, way stronger than a week ago but for some reason not with the same effect. Why?

“Please sit down.” Ryan guided him into the living room and the guy followed obediently. He dropped nearly dead into the armchair, apparently too exhausted for anything.

“Do you want some tea or coffee?”

His answer was nothing more than a shrug, and so he moved towards the kitchen and began to work mechanically. That was better, it gave him time to sort his thoughts because, okay. That was certainly the kid from before and he had somehow found him. But most of all… most of all he couldn’t enter homes. And his smell had changed from prey to… was it a predator? It certainly didn’t have the same effect on him as before. It didn’t urge him to bite and drink, it was rather familiar now. Maybe he had only gotten used to it.

Taking both cups, he found the boy in the very same position as he had left him. Putting the cup down, he sat on the couch instead.

“I’m Ryan.”

The boy looked up, a bit amused before he huffed. “Yeah, sure. I guess I forgot my manners over this whole thing.” He laughed again, the same terrible sound. “I’m Ray. I’d say it’s nice to meet you but not really. No offense, dude.” He shrugged. “Or maybe all the offense. I don’t know anymore.” 

As Ryan didn’t answer, the boy - Ray - sat up a bit straighter, smiling nearly shyly. “So… vampires, I guess? At least that’s the only thing I can think of. Excuse me if I am wrong with mythical beasts. I am not very educated on that besides the basics, I’m afraid.”

“What do you remember?” Ryan asked and Ray fell silent, before shrugging again.

“I was on my way home, listening to music and… and then you grabbed me, I guess. I wanted to scream and hit you and all that shit but… I mean, look at you and then look at me. You could have easily broken me in half and I thought, wow, didn’t think I’d get raped at any point in my life but here I go.” That laugh again but it was shaking, his brown eyes huge and distant. “And then… then you…” He gesticulated to his neck before realizing that the other couldn’t see it beneath his hoodie. Pulling his collar down, he revealed the two bright red spots. “I guess you bit me? Is that right?”

Ryan nodded carefully, casting his eyes down to focus on his cup. “I’m sorry.”

He was ignored but probably not due to ill will. Ray seemed just to be too deep in his thoughts. “After that I woke up in that alleyway and everything was alright. I felt sick but when I checked I wasn’t really hurt besides… besides the bite, I mean. Like, I still had my wallet and my bag and shit. So I just went home, trying to sleep it off or something like that.” Lifting his hand, he rubbed his face thoroughly. “And I was ready to just forget this whole shit happened, okay? I could just pretend that you were just some weirdo and I should probably go to a doctor to get checked if you infected me with some nasty shit but that turned to be very hard.”

“What happened, Ray?”

The brown eyes flickered to him at the mention of his name. “First I noticed that I couldn’t enter certain houses and I couldn’t figure out why. And I got so hungry but no matter what I ate… it never really stopped.”

“Did you… attack someone?” Ryan asked and the boy averted his eyes quickly.

“My mom. She came to wake me because I was sleeping so long and I… I jumped at her.”   
“Did you bite her?”

“No. No, she hit me in the face and that snapped me out of it.” Again that shy smile. “That is good, right? That I didn’t bite her, I mean.”

“It’s very good,” Ryan agreed before leaning ahead. “Ray, I didn’t mean to turn you. I’m really sorry.”

“Well, that doesn’t help me now.” He took the cup in between his hands and sniffed at the tea. “There’s no blood in in this?” he asked, sounding disappointed. “I figured you’d have something. That’s what I have to eat now, right?”

“It’s just tea,” Ryan assured him. “How did you even find me?”

“There’s a pull in my head. I always knew exactly where you were and I really tried to ignore it. You really don’t want to meet the guy again who attacked you, you know?” He smiled sadly. “But I don’t really know where else to go.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You sound like a broken record, you know? Not helping dude. Just… just make it okay again.”

He took one look at Ray and the boy slumped down, throwing his head against the cushion and sighing heavily. “Figured that much. I was just hoping. I was really hoping this would just be a dream. A nightmare.”

“Ray…”   
“I am so hungry… I’m starving.”

He would gladly offer him some blood to help him along and to also test if they were right and that he had really turned him into a vampire. But he simply had nothing here, only went out and got something when he himself was hungry and to be honest, he wasn’t really hungry after that big meal last week.

Still, he had to do something because the boy looked like a wreck. Sick and impossibly exhausted.

“Come here,” Ryan said softly and offered his hand. Ray watched him with distrust which was to be expected but he seemed too tired to fight anymore. As Ray laid his hand in his, he wondered briefly through what hell the boy had gone through in the last week. Trying to control his new urges without really knowing what was going on. It had to be frightening, like a horror movie.

“It’s dangerous,” Ray mumbled as he was pulled from the armchair to sit on the couch. “I can’t really… I mean, it smells too good and I am just so hungry…” While talking, Ryan could see the fangs appear in the other’s mouth. Sharp and white.

“I know,” he assured him. “I’m not even sure if this works but you seem ready to pass out any second now.”

Ray gave a short nod but his eyes were lidded and not focused on him, they were watching his throat. Ryan tucked him even closer and the younger opened his mouth, showing his fangs as if he wanted to make sure they were alright.

He gently took Ray’s chin between his fingers, thumbing against his teeth and watched how the other’s lids grew even heavier.

“I don’t know how…” Ray whispered as he leaned closer, trying to nick the other’s thumb but Ryan quickly pulled back.

“I’ll show you if you let me. It gets easier each time.”

“I don’t want to learn,” he whimpered but allowed Ryan to take a hold of the dark hair, guiding him towards his throat. He felt the small, needlelike indents and gently corrected Ray’s angle to puncture his veins just right and before he could command him, the boy was already sinking his teeth in.

It didn’t hurt all too much, there was poison in their fangs to help relax their victim but it also felt… strangely familiar. As if it was supposed to be like that.

Ryan could feel his skin part and then the first rush of blood but he didn’t expect Ray to react so harshly. The boy all but climbed into his lap, fingers tearing at his shirt and he full out growled when Ryan tried to move.

“Slower,” Ryan told him because now the other was drinking harshly, fangs ripping more skin open than necessary so that the blood would flow more freely and now it did hurt. “Ray, slow down!”

He did, if only when Ryan pulled on his hair as a warning and soon afterwards, the boy relaxed. Slumping against him, chest to chest, he drank lazily, his hands pawing at his shoulder like a cat. After a while all he did was lick occasionally before Ryan could feel the fangs retracting as the boy leaned his head against his, breathing heavily.

They sat in silence for a few minuted as Ryan rubbed the other’s lean back while Ray tried to catch his breath. The bite mark was already healing, he could feel his skin close, and there was again that scent of roses. Lovely and soft and not with the bitter smell of stress mixed in.

Carefully, he pried Ray from him and the boy looked up at him, eyes as red as his lips and for a second he had to hold himself back to taste himself on the other’s teeth.

“Feel better?” he asked and the other simply blinked, sinking onto the couch as Ryan guided him down. Grabbing a blanket, he tucked him in when Ray reached out to take his wrist.

“You turned me into a monster,” he whispered and Ryan froze, knowing it was true and knowing there was nothing he could do against it but before he could find any words to answer, the boy was already drifting off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am already working on the second chapter but as I said, I can't say when that wil come out!  
> Hope you still enjoy it!


	2. Gavin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I can’t go back,” Ray whispered, barely louder than a breath. “I can never…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you mean I forgot about this story. Nah.

Chapter 2

Gavin

 

Ryan was going through his normal morning routine when he heard the soft shuffling in his living room. For a moment he was concerned there would be an intruder before he remembered the day before.

Ray had slept here last night.

Unconsciously, he rubbed over the faded bite mark before stepping inside the living room.

“You’ve got a lot of books,” Ray said without looking away from the shelf. He was sitting on the couch, curled up around a pillow as he spoke. In the golden morning light, he looked healthier, but also small and young sitting there.

“Most are about vampires,” Ryan admitted. “I tried to understand what was happening to me.”

“I see all four Twilight books there, you must have been desperate.”

“Kinda, yeah.”

The boy finally turned his head to him. “Why did you turn me into one? Did you need… company or a mate or some shit like that? I am so not going to be your Bella.”

Ryan gave a tired smile but it wasn’t honest. He still felt incredibly guilty, even though he wasn’t even grasping the whole situation yet.

“I didn’t mean to turn you.”

Ray huffed and Ryan sat down with him, not missing how the other scooted away. “I’m serious, Ray. I have never… I have never attacked a human before, but something about you, your smell… I couldn’t control myself.”   
“Well thank God I showered that morning,” the other tried to joke but it fell flat. “So, do you just turn every human you attack? Couldn’t you just… not do that?”

Ryan sighed. “I’ll be honest with you. You were hurt, badly. No, actually I am pretty sure you were on the brink to death in that moment. Vampire blood can heal and that’s why I… gave it to you.”   
“You  _gave_ it to me?”

“I fed it to you,” he clarified and watched Ray’s eyes widen in horror. “It was either that or watch you die.”

Burying his face in the pillow, the boy stayed quiet, breathing out in long, trembling breaths. It was the only noise for the longest time in the house, hanging over them dreadfully and loaded with unsaid words.

Ryan bit on his lip, wondering what he could say to break this tension, to somehow make the kid understand that he had no other choice. That it was the only thing he was able to do to save him, to make his mistake right. But before he could find the courage to say any of that, a loud ringtone snapped them out of the silence. The tension still stayed, only grew as he watched Ray curl even more around that pillow, trying to hide his pained face.

His phone laid on the desk, vibrating over the surface. The brightly lit display was reading  _ Mom. _

Ray seemed to know that, he didn’t even look up to check on it just breathed in those sharp gasps as if he was hurt.

After endless minutes the phone fell silent, showing 28 missed calls and multiple messages before it grew dark.

“I can’t go back,” Ray whispered, barely louder than a breath. “I can never…” He stopped himself and Ryan could feel the weight on his own shoulders now, could feel the despair of the other so close to him and he offered, “I could… I could try to talk to her. Find some lie until we have things figu-”

“No,” Ray interrupted him. Not even harsh, just tired and helpless. “You’ve already done enough damage.” And then, even worse.

“I wish you had let me die.”

 

They trained after that. Baby steps. Ray didn’t want to, Ray hated him for what he had done and Ryan could understand that. Of course he could and there was no way for him to reverse it, so he had to at least take responsibility.

He tried to get Ray to get used to the scent of humans, to resist the temptation but it was hard. Ray just shut him out, pretended nothing was wrong and didn’t listen. He simply stayed inside, not wanting to face the world.

Ryan had given him his spare bedroom and since then he barely saw the boy anymore. He would barely talk to him and when Ryan knocked on the door to ask if Ray was alright, he usually only got a snarky answer.

“Head is still on top of my shoulders.”   
“Turns out light doesn’t turn me to ashes.”

“No stake in my heart yet.”

Ryan tried to stay patient but it was getting harder and the situation was just getting more complicated. Ray had gone missing and there were radio reports about him, his picture was shown on the news. It really didn’t help his guilt, but also weren’t they able to go outside into the public. Ray had to get used to people again and also did he have to eat.

That stubborn boy refused to drink his blood again and was getting weaker and weaker by the day. It was a vicious cycle and he didn’t know how to escape it.

That was when Gavin stepped into their lives.

Or forced himself into their lives; yeah, that was more like it.

There was a knock on the door and when Ryan opened it carefully, he got hit in the face by something. Taken aback he stared at the young man standing in front of him, looking up to him expectantly. Turning his head, he found what had hit him by his feet.

“Is that garlic?” He asked surprised and when he turned back around, he was faced with a wooden cross.

The stranger looked more curious than determined and Ryan softly shook his head.

“You’re holding it upside down.”   
“Oh. Wait.” He turned the cross around and they both watched each other over it before Ryan threw the door shut. Or at least he tried to because the other guy forced his feet in the gap and whined loudly when it got crushed.

“Wait! Wait, let me in!” He pushed against the door and with a sigh Ryan gave in. They had to deal with this one way or another because apparently this guy had figured out that he was a vampire.

“Who are you?” He asked.

“I’m Gavin Free!” Gavin responded before squeezing himself through the gap in the door. Dugging beneath Ryan’s arm, he got inside. “I live down the street but I am not surprised you don’t know me. I don’t think we ever talked before.”

Ryan took a moment to observe the other and yeah, maybe he had seen him before. He decided to check on that later.

“Okay, Gavin Free. Why do you throw garlic at me?”

“Well, you are a vampire, aren’t you?” The boy said too casually. “Just wanted to check on some facts, you know? Like garlic and the cross. Doesn’t seem to be true.” He quickly pulled out his phone, aiming it at Ryan. “And you do appear on photos!”

“Mirrors,” Ryan said and pushed the phone out of his face. “Vampires don’t appear in mirrors.”   
Gavin stared at him before his eyes lightened up. “That’s right! You got a mirror he-”   
“Enough!” Reaching up, he squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Alright. Gavin, right?” The boy nodded. “So what makes you think that I am a vampire?”   
“Oh, that was easy!” He said, his shoulders thrown back and his chest sticking out. “First off, you always keep your blinds closed! Who does that? A vampire, that’s who! Because they can’t step into the sun, right?”

Or someone who had to hide a missing boy in here. Too bad that wasn’t necessarily something he could just admit.

“I can step into the sun. We can give it a try right now,” he said and that was actually a good idea. He should get this guy out before Ray saw him.

“Secondly,” Gavin went on. “I saw Ray Narvaez on your steps.”

Ryan tensed at that but if the other noticed, he didn’t let it show.

“It took me a while until I figured it out. I didn’t recognize him right away and since then I haven’t seen him step out again. At least not by daylight. So he also has to be a vampire!”

He seemed very pleased with himself, looking up to Ryan as if he expected a praise of some sort. All he got though was a dumbfounded look.

“Wait, that’s your evidence?”   
“Yeah!”

“I could just be a kidnapper, hiding his victim.”

Gavin stared at him and something like understanding filled his eyes. “That’s true!”   
“How did you get to vampire from that?”   
“The blinds! I tried to look inside and couldn’t!”

“That could be for a million reasons!” And how the fuck could this guy have gotten it right? Out of all those damn possibilities! Rubbing his temples, he was pretty sure he would get a headache.

But that had made everything even more complicated. Maybe he would be able to get Gavin away from believing they were vampires but if he had seen Ray step inside of here, he’d have to stop him from calling the police. And who said that he hadn’t done this already?

Thinking about it, it seemed foolish of him not to. It seemed foolish of him to step into a nest of vampires on his own.

The boy still looked at him, like he expected him to count down his million reasons and Ryan sighed.

“So what do you want?”   
“Excuse me?”   
“What do you want? What was your plan behind all this?”

That made him think for a moment before he shrugged. “I’m not sure. I was bored, I guess? This is literally the most interesting thing going on here.”

“Interesting?” Ryan all but spat at him. “It’s dangerous! What would have happened if I’d attacked you?”

“You would have probably turned me into a vampire,” Gavin said matter of factly. “That sounds like fun!”   
Ryan stared at him at loss of words. How could that guy just walk in here an- “Fun?” He spluttered but before he could hear the others answer, he saw red eyes light up in the dim twilight of his living room.

In the blink of an eye, Ray lunged at them but Ryan was just as fast, grabbing his shoulders and slamming him against the wall. It was hard enough that a piece of the plaster fell off but Ray didn’t seem to notice.

His fangs were white and deadly, his eyes glowing brightly as he hissed at him. It was a thing of beauty.

But Ryan couldn’t let him go and he hissed back, his own fangs appearing, and he could feel how the younger tried to appear smaller, ducking under him with soft growls.

“So I was right,” Gavin said behind them, sounding surprised himself and they both turned towards him. All in all he didn’t seem too shaken by this all, rather excited and now that idiot actually stepped closer to two vampires!

“Hey Ray!” He greeted the younger cheerful as if they were old friends. He even reached out as if to shake hands. “I’m Gavin Free!”

Ray stared at him and Ryan could feel him tremble beneath his touch, struggling between attacking his prey and being flabbergasted.

In the end the later won and he blinked confused before looking up to Ryan as if to ask him for help. With the still red eyes and one fang poking out from his lips, it looked rather amusing and Ryan snorted. All in all the whole situation was kinda hysterical.

It turned bitter soon enough as Gavin asked, “So you turned Ray into a vampire, right? Can you do it with me as well?”

Ryan was ready to snap once more at him because how couldn’t he understand how wrong that question alone was?! But it was Ray who spoke.

“What the fuck?” He called out strongly. “Why would you?”

Gavin shrugged again. “I guess I’m bored.”

Ray growled at him, fighting against Ryan’s grip to get to him but Ryan didn’t let go.

“Gavin,” he began. “I don’t think you understa-”

“Turn me,” Gavin said good naturally. “Or I’ll tell the police what’s going on here.”

 

It took Ryan one week to give in, hoping that Gavin would change his mind but as it turned out if he wanted something, he’d do anything to get it.

As it turned out, Gavin managed to somehow get into his house without him noticing. Ryan made sure to lock his doors and close the windows but more than once he woke up to hear Ray and Gavin talking in the guest room. That was at least something good about the situation. Ray seemed to open up a bit, even appeared comfortable around the other most of the time. They were around the same age and he’d often find them sitting in front of the Xbox, playing against each other.

Then Ryan would stand there and watch them, realising he had never before seen Ray smile.

Days like that were nearly homely, if he could ignore the high collar Gavin was wearing, his paler features that had been so tan when they had met. How Ray seemed stronger, healthier and it really took no genius to figure out that Ray had drank the other’s blood.

Ryan only wondered if Ray had lost control or Gavin had offered it.

And of course the blatant pressuring. When leaving in the evening, Gavin usually asked him if he would turn him the next day.

He preferred not to answer.

But then he walked into the living room to find them on the couch, Ray perched on top of Gavin and the air was heavy with blood.

In the first moment, Ryan wanted to rip his charge away, but he soon recognized their relaxed state. From his place at the door, he could only see Gavin’s face clearly.

His lips were slightly parted in a soft sigh, his eyes closed as he leaned his head against Ray’s. One of his hand was mindlessly carding through dark hair while his other was simply thrown over the other’s back.

He seemed in some kind of trance because he didn’t even react when Ryan stepped closer, walking around the couch because maybe… maybe it wasn’t like he thought it was.

But sure enough Ray had his head tucked in the other’s neck, his fangs buried in the soft flesh there, and it was still a bit messy, there was a trail of blood trickling down into Gavin’s collar.

Ray did notice him; his eyes, nuclear in their intensity even though they were hooded, followed his movement. He started to growl, his hands had first rested against Gavin’s chest were now circling around his shoulders as if to make sure Ryan wouldn’t take him away.

He didn’t even think about that; it was a pretty picture to look at even though that was maybe the heavy scent of blood speaking. Gavin’s scent wasn’t appealing to him like Ray’s had been, it wasn’t calling to him like a siren but Ray had quickly latched onto him.

Reaching out, he instead carded a hand through the dark hair and the growling quickly turned into a soft purr.

“How does he taste?” Ryan asked because he couldn’t tell, not from scent alone.

Ray detached himself slowly, lapping up a few drops, and Gavin made a whimpering noise like he wanted him to continue.

“Like spring,” Ray whispered into Gavin’s ear, before nuzzling his hair. “He tastes like the earliest spring when it’s only warm in the sun and only for a few minutes. But you’ve been longing for the sun for so long that you treasure those few moments.”

Gavin’s hand tugged at him and Ray sat up so that they could watch each other. Ryan wasn’t sure what the human saw in the red eyes or the bloodstained lips but Ray seemed to understand.

“Turn him,” he said, not looking up. “Turn him, I want him to be ours.”

And maybe that was the only solution, maybe he just wanted to believe it, but he did step closer, leaning over to also see Gavin’s face.

And he needed to know, he needed to make sure- “What is wrong with you?” He asked.

The human was breathing shallowly but his eyes locked with his. They were tired, dark in the dim light and he still clung to Ray as if his life depended on it.

“I am so bored,” he said quietly. “Life is so boring, it’s wearing me down.”

And Ryan was pretty sure he understood now.

He nodded, offering his hand to Ray who gladly bit into his palm. His teeth were sharp, not resisting to tear his skin and he didn’t even lap at his blood, he went straight back to Gavin’s neck.

Ryan carefully tilted the human’s head, making him bear his throat and sunk his fangs into the other side.

Gavin gasped but eagerly reached for Ryan’s hand and drank from there.

Ray was right, he tasted like liquid sunshine and fresh grass. It got tainted, grew cold and tasted darker and Ryan realized he could taste him turn. Ray seemed to realize the same, he could hear him purr again as they both drank slowly.

Gavin convulsed between them and Ryan lifted his hand, fearing he would smother him. Licking over Gavin’s throat one more time, Ryan pushed himself up to catch his eyes just in time to watch them change.

They were wide but he couldn’t find any regret in them as they filled with red from the inside out. They dropped shut in exhaustion a heartbeat later as his head leaned against Ray’s but he was smiling.

He was smiling brighter than Ryan had ever seen him.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter comes Saturday!


	3. Michael

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Superheroes that are vampires,” he had said, too excited for his own good. “Nobody has ever done that before! Nobody will expect us!”

Chapter 3

Michael

 

Gavin joining them shifted their dynamic immensely. He had way fewer problems to cope with his change than Ray. Ryan guessed it was either because they were looking out for him or because he had transformed out of his own free will.

It helped Ray as well. He calmed down, listened to Ryan’s lectures instead of dismissing him, and sometimes he even managed to hold a normal conversation with him. He didn’t seem as miserable anymore and that was a nice change.

After all the silent aggression in the house, it was nice to hear them laugh and talk in the living room, even if it was just about video games.

Besides that they couldn’t be more different. Ray still preferred to be hidden, to not be around any human, scared of his own urges.

Gavin was hard to stop from going outside. It took him two days after his change until Ryan agreed to take him out into the city. Of course he stayed close to him, a hand clamped over his elbow, but Gavin behaved himself.

They didn’t stay long, the boy too overwhelmed by the new and different smells he could take in, but not once did he try to attack anyone. Ryan hoped that it would stay like that. Maybe they could even take Ray out if he was assured that controlling his urges wasn’t that hard, but that was a goal for another time.

One thing that worried Ryan was Gavin’s joy of hunting. With three vampires, it of course took more blood to feed them all, and as it turned out Gavin was a natural in it. He moved silently through the forest, following the scent of animals without any problems and slayed them without mercy.

He was lean, fast and gracefully in the way he hunted, providing them all with more than enough.

It was a bit like he had read all about Vampires and decided to be the cliché one in his… very own strange way.

Ryan was pretty sure he had walked in on him trying to convince Ray to wear color coordinated unitards as some form of uniform.

“Superheroes that are vampires,” he had said, too excited for his own good. “Nobody has ever done that before! Nobody will expect us!”

All in all it was a way better feeling living under the same roof and he would figure out the problems one at a time.

Like how Ray disliked feeding from dead deer and rather let Gavin have more so that he could drink his blood instead. Or to “suck the other off” as Ray referred to it.

He couldn’t even remember how often he had walked in on them sucking each other off.

When the reports of hunted Vampires came in, it was Ray who found them. As it turned out, he spent the time not playing video games on the internet, researching. He had found a website that he described as legit with a lot of actual vampires.

Ryan was rather skeptical, because every website he had found was infested with thirteen year old children who claimed to be vampires.

“I mean, of course there are a bunch of fake ones, but I chatted to some and they seemed to know an awful lot. I think they either are actual vampires or at least know one.”   
“What’s wrong, Rye?” Gavin asked amused. “Thought you were the only one? Thought you didn’t have to share your little harem?”

He ignored the last comment but Gavin wasn’t that far off. He had tried to reach out but had not really come up with anything, so he’d stopped. After all he hadn’t really cared about being a vampire before. Not until he ended up with his two… what were they even?

He wasn’t quite sure, they weren’t the same kind of Vampire that he was, they couldn't create more of their kind, and he had noticed that they did listen when he really wanted them to. They reacted to his moods, to his voice, obeyed his commands, and for the lack of a better term he figured he was some kind of alpha or head vampire.

Which would make those two his brides, according to old books at least but he could exactly imagine their faces if he ever dared to call them like that. No, for now he settled on charges.

It was somehow fitting by the way that Ray had his feet propped up on the chair next to him and Gavin wrapped his arms around the younger from behind, leaning ahead to watch him work on the computer. They were so close that it was only a question of a few minutes before those two would start to scent each other again.

“So what about that website?” He asked as long as he still had their attention.

“Well they are exchanging all kind of information and shit, alright?” Ray explained. “And a few have reported about several hunters going around.”   
“Vampire hunters?” Gavin asked, nosing the dark hair to breathe in the rose scent. “Like in movies?”

“Apparently. They move through the country and kill any vampire they can find. Controlled population and all that crap.”

Ryan stepped closer, trying to look past them onto the screen. “Where are they right now?”   
“That’s what I’m worried about,” Ray admitted. “The last reports were kinda close.”

Even though he said that, he didn’t look concerned at all as he closed his eyes and tilted his head to nuzzle Gavin as well. They both started to purr and let the room smell like a damn flower meadow.

Still, Ryan didn’t have it in his heart to even be slightly mad at them, instead it left him with a warm feeling in his chest.

His charges were happy and content and well fed.

Now he just had to keep them safe until those hunters left this state.

 

* * *

 

 

He was on a walk with Gavin and even though it hadn’t been part of the plan, they had landed back in the forest. To be fair he had been distracted by the other’s ridiculous question.

Apparently it was important which of their bodily fluids would survive in the sun.

He had told him that it didn’t matter but apparently that wasn’t enough to satisfy him. Now he was at least back to listening, his steps carefully placed on the small path and even though Ryan didn’t hear anything, he knew the other was hunting.

Not relying on his senses too much over the past years had made them dull, and Ray and Gavin were way better than him.

“Don’t do it,” he warned him and Gavin snarled a little.

“Sounds huge. Could feed us for quite a while,” Gavin tried to reason with him.

“We are fed from the last deer and I don’t want to pull attention to us with those hunters close.”

“We should hunt  _ them _ !”

“They are humans and we don’t hunt humans.”

Gavin rolled his eyes and turned back around, his eyes fixing the bushes around them, and Ryan could see them turn a soft red, his muscles tighten as he prepared himself to pounce on whatever was out there.

“Gavin,” Ryan called. “I said no.”

The younger hissed, baring his fangs but stepped to his side, not able to act against his request.

“One day we’ll be hungry,” he snapped at him, crossing his arms.

“And then we can hunt again. We have to be careful.”

“You’re always careful,” Gavin mumbled before sighing. “It’s gone now. Great.”

Ryan ruffled his hair but froze as he noticed the sudden shift around them. He couldn’t quite place what it was but Gavin didn’t seem to notice. He just looked at him confused before checking around them.

“That’s not funny, Rye,” he said. “Don’t act li-”   
“Ray,” he heard himself say and yeah, he could feel Ray, a pull towards him. “Ray is coming closer quickly.”

“Ray joining us? No way.” Gavin shook his hand off. “Which direction?”   
“Coming from the hou-” He didn’t get to finish that sentence before Gavin was off. Ryan followed him because he was right; Ray wouldn’t go outside. Not alone, not if it could mean coming close to humans, but now he was running, trying to get to them.

Something must have happened and Ryan was pretty sure he knew what it was.

Those hunters… if they would be able to find that website and follow the IP address? Maybe that was exactly how they found their victims?

A horrible pain flamed from his shoulder down to his chest and he grunted, stumbling. Without any evidence proving it, he still knew that Ray had been hurt and now Gavin was way in the lead and as Ryan turned a corner he was just able to see him ram into a human, throwing them both to the ground.

Gavin was hissing furiously, the stranger pinned beneath him as he bared his fangs again, strings of saliva connecting them.

Ryan didn’t even think of stopping them, he saw Ray lying in the dirt a few feet away. A deep gash going from his shoulder down to his chest, bleeding sluggishly. He was whining and it tugged on Ryan’s soul.

“He came into the house,” he whimpered as Ryan stepped closer. “I couldn’t even smell him and he surprised me!”

It was true, even this close he couldn’t smell the human but more importantly was that Ray didn’t heal! Thankfully the wound wasn’t too bad, probably a quick hit while Ray had tried to get away bu-

Another pain struck through him, this time settling deep into his abdomen and he groaned at the same time as Gavin yelped. Ryan looked up but wasn’t fast enough to see what had hurt him, Gavin was already plunging his fangs into the other’s throat.

The human screamed out and struggled beneath him and Ryan was pretty sure that Gavin wasn’t even sucking his blood, he was simply tearing, just wanted to hurt back.

“Stop!” He called because they could maybe take this injuries and walk them off but that guy was human and they really didn’t need a corpse right now.

Gavin lifted his head, chin streaked in blood as he hissed at him. His eyes were bright red but dark with pain and now Ryan could see the hilt of a knife sticking out of his abdomen.

“Ryan…” he growled and when Ryan ran over to him to help, he collapsed towards him. He caught him by the shoulder before he hit the ground and reached for the knife. Even though it would normally be stupid to pull a knife out just like that, Gavin wouldn’t be able to heal like that but the moment he touched the hilt, it burned his finger.

Silver.

Pure silver and that’s how that stranger could leave such damages to them.

And now he could smell the guy, his blood still dripping from Gavin’s chin. Spicy cinnamon, and for the first time he got a good look at him.

The stranger laid on the ground, a hand clasped over his throat as he tried to catch his breath. He was surprisingly young, not older than his two charges with a headful of reddish curls. His eyes were brown, the usually so warm color twisted in rage.

The guy sat up in one smooth move, ripping the knife out of Gavin who moaned in pain and tried to stab them. Ryan quickly grabbed his wrist and forced it to the ground, hearing it snap.

The stranger yelped, trying to reach it with his other hand but Ryan pinned him down easily.

“Don’t touch them!” He growled and could feel both Ray and Gavin in the back of his mind. Felt how they twisted in pain, more from the silver than their wounds and still it made him furious. “Don’t you dare lay your dirty hands on them!”

“Fuck you!” The stranger spat at him but didn’t struggle anymore. “Dirty animals! You all deserve to die, Monsters!”   
“We brought no harm upon you. You were the one to hunt us down, you are the monster.”

“Sure, I bet you’re a really nice guy if I only get to know you, right?” He tried to free himself but instantly stopped, groaning. “Fuck,” he whispered and Ryan realized that he not only had a bruising grip on his broken wrist but Gavin had made sure to rip the left side of his throat open. Their fangs could cut deep but weren’t made for big wounds, too much blood wasted that way, so it wasn’t too bad. Still, the smell mixed with his anger and Ryan really debated if he should follow Gavin’s lead. After all this guy had dared to attack his charges, had come into their nest and hurt them.

“Ryan?” It was Ray, dragging himself closer with one of his hands clutching his hurt shoulder. Looking up, Ryan realized he had been growling, fangs bared, but now he made a little pitied sound.

“Does it hurt?” he asked, even though he could feel it to some degree in his own mind.

Ray nodded as he fell more than he’d sit down next to him. “What are we going to do with him?”   
Excellent question.

He observed the stranger beneath him, who stared back with a sneer even if he was in pain and bleeding.

“What’s your name?” he asked and didn’t really think the other would answer but he got surprised.

“Michael,” he responded. “And I’d say you should just let me go.”

“Sounds like an awful idea to me, Michael. What would keep you from returning?”   
“How about the fucking fact that there are three vampires here? I was told it would be one,” Michael spat.

“So you come back with reinforcements.”

“Okay, listen. I am guessing you're like the alpha dude here,” Michael sat, trying hard not to get nervous as Gavin also joined them. He dragged himself next to Ray and they both rubbed their cheeks together, each making sure the other was alright with soft chirps. “This job pays fucking well but not enough to die for this shit, okay? If I say I’ll go and won’t come back, it’s true.”

“We can’t be sure,” Gavin threw in and it might have been threatening if he wasn’t purring as Ray nuzzled his hair. “We can’t let him leave. It’s too much of a risk.”

“I sai-”   
“We also can’t just kill him,” Ryan said.

“Why not? He hurt us!”

“Because we don’t kill humans!” he snapped at Gavin who fell quiet. But it wasn’t only that. What would they do with the corpse? People would start to look after Michael, would search for him and they would be in even more trouble than right now.

He looked back down to Michael and let one of his hands go, allowing him to clasp it against his wound. The human was breathing heavily, his eyes darting between them and beneath the fake calm, he could see panic rising.

It smelled like cinnamon, such a sharp scent against both Ray and Gavin.

“I bet he tastes wonderful,” Ray whispered and Ryan threw him a warning look but Gavin was already pulling him close, holding tight.

“He does,” he purred and his red eyes found Ryan. “Then bind him to us,” he said. “Make it so that he can’t leave, that he can’t hurt us anymore but it wouldn’t kill him.”

“What?” Michael called. “No, don’t you dare!”   
He began to thrash again but it was weak, Ryan barely had to bother with keeping him down and now that he thought about it… it would be a good solution. They wouldn’t have to kill him and he would be under his command, but most importantly he had to assure that his charges were safe.

Throwing a look towards both of them, he saw the wounds in their bodies, and even though they had stopped bleeding it hurt just to see them like this.

Ryan nodded slowly and Michael beneath him screamed, tried once again to throw him off but it was a futile attempt.

Both Ray and Gavin started to purr, pleased with his decision and that was all he needed to know.

It was Gavin who bit into his hand until blood ran down his wrist, all while Ray scooted towards Michael’s head. He was careful as he carded his fingers through Michael’s curls, but Ray had always been the gentle one of them, and Ryan listened to him shushing the human as he pressed Ryan’s bleeding palm against Michael’s mouth.

“It’s okay. It’s not as bad as you think it is,” Ray promised softly, and Michael’s eyes were locked on him, begging and pleading, but Ryan already knew those two would be close, he could feel it as his poison spread through his newest charge.

The other two had to feel it as well, he could hear Gavin purr and Ray smiled gently down to the human.

“Welcome home, Michael. We’ll take good care of you.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, if I remember right this was either Rachel's birthday present or for christmas...  
> It's May so close enough, right?
> 
> I guess I got a bit caught up with Novocaine, welp.
> 
> Btw Project NEON...  
> If you liked those stories you might want to click this link here:
> 
> http://kahnah23.tumblr.com/post/144621087170/nowhere-kids-project-neon


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